Tears into Diamonds

Unbelievable, is it not? It is amazing how "anime" movies can conjure fantastic characters. There was one particular character that I liked best, a kid whose tears turn into diamonds. If such a kid truly exists I wonder how life would be...

Now, back to reality, I have been listening to success stories from billionaires, recently. Most of them narrated a story of mediocrity and poverty with disappointments as well as discouragements piling up one after another. The one thing in common that they share is the tenacity of their will to survive, to see their dreams into fruition. More like they are able to turn their tears into diamonds as well. Only a few of them did not start out that way. Some of them are born with a golden spoon in their mouth.

In a way, I came to reflect on my life, right now. I guess it is natural to ask 'When would my tears turn into diamonds too?' When can my life story be like the billionaires or even like Sharayn, my friend. She might not have turned into a billionaire but she did manage to earn more than enough for her needs.

In this article, I just would like to share how I came to be blessed by her presence in my life.

It was one sunny day, when I met Sharayn. She was by the riverside all alone staring into space. She must be 15 years old by then. I sat beside her and we began chatting. She turned out to be a bubbly little girl with dreams and passions starting to take shape. She mentioned that one of her dreams was to become a doctor. And so I inquired on how she was planning to become a doctor someday. When she answered me, she did not hold back. She told me the details of her plan. She is planning to get a scholarship in college. If she cannot get one, she will apply for a working student status. Nothing will hinder her from attaining her dreams, she said that with utmost conviction. She was all optimism and vigor. I truly admire her spirit. Her stamina is rare. We talked until it is time for dinner.

We parted and did not see each other until today, ten years after that encounter. She informed me that she has just passed her Medical Licensure Exam. As a way of thanksgiving she is inviting me for dinner. It looked like she did not change a bit. She is still as bubbly as ever. I am humbled by her down-to-earth manner. She told me that she was not able to get the scholarship that she was trying to get in college. Yet, somehow, she was accepted as a working student up to her medical proper years. During that time, she did not stop making a living for herself and for her family. She maintained a job as a part time source of income. She was blessed with good health. There was not a time that she got sick that needs hospitalization. As invincible as she can be, her dreams unfold before her very eyes. The moment she graduated Post-Graduate Internship she was able to save enough money to provide her family a mini store at home. There were countless nights that she cried due to fatigue and worry. Sometimes, she thought that it is not possible for her to be the jack-of-all-trades all the time. But then again, here she is a full-pledged physician that everyone can go and ask for help. She is almost crying while relating those tiresome, tearful years she have had experienced. Acting as her emotional trash can at that time, I absorbed all her ten years of hard labor. We are friends after all.

Right now, she is juggling her residency and her job as a part time instructor in her Alma Mater. A road she particularly carved for herself seems so impossible to trek even by me. However, she is a living proof that everything is possible. No degree of physical pain, no amount of tears, not one forceful discouragement will ever deter her from getting what she wants. The nights she toiled for work as a fast food crew while in medical school demanded a Herculian stamina. Those same nights that she could have chosen to study for her lessons were taken with a price. Who would possibly think that she is a medical student at that time? Who would ever believe that she passed with honors? Her efforts are most unimaginable.

But, unlike humans, the universe listened to the the strongest of her emotions, her wishes and most of all her heart. And the highest power made her exactly what she prayed she would be. The physician who can feel for those who are struggling for survival because she has been on that same road. Somehow, she became like a magician who has turned her own tears into diamonds. She earned more than enough to enjoy the luxuries of life and she is still accumulating more.

The lesson I was able to get is never, ever to give up for there is always a way to get what I truly desire. Focus and perseverance will help me turn my tears into diamonds, too. Thank you, Sharayn, for being the example I need to see to realize that I am not hopeless. Thank you also for all those who wrote books and conduct seminars personally and even posted there inspiring stories in the web for encouragement. In your own small way, you helped me pick-up my pace. Soon, I will be the one calling you up, Sharayn, and sharing you how my tears have, eventually, turned into diamonds.